Sometimes, I am not sure if something I am hearing in my head is from God or not. I don’t want to take the next step and it be a wrong one, and it can be quiet difficult to drown out the voices of the world sometimes.
In Lysa TerKeurst’s book “What Happens when Women Say Yes to God”, she gives five things to ask yourself to make sure what you are hearing is form God:
1. Does what I’m hearing line up with Scripture?
God will never tell us to do something that is in contrast with what the Bible says.
2. Is what I’m hearing consistent with God’s character?
God will not say things that are inconsistent with who He is. Remember God doesn’t change!
3. Is what I’m hearing confirmed through messages at church or my quiet times?
When I feel God is trying to tell me something about something specific, I see it everywhere! Friends, church, my devotion, etc.
4. Is what I’m hearing beyond me?
We can be called to do things that are impossible in our own strength. Sometimes this can be super scary, but there is a good chance it is God!
5. Is what I’m hearing pleasing to God?
If what you think you are hearing would sadden God or make you feel uneasy or wrong, it’s not from Him.
These five questions are a huge help in discerning God’s voice. I love that the first one has to do with scripture. If you cannot answer “yes” to question one, there there is zero need to go through the other questions, you have your answer right there.
I think the one that I see most prevalent in my life is number 3. Whenever I am not sure about something or think maybe God is trying to tell me something, it seems to crop up over and over again in messages, sermons, through Christian friends, etc. Every time I hear said “same thing” it is like that extra nudge of reassurance that it is the right thing. Sometimes this pattern can go on for months at a time, until I get whatever it is I am supposed to “get”. (I can be a slow learner and quite stubborn sometimes with spiritual things!)
Thanks Lysa for an awesome guide to help us discern God’s voice!
QOTD: Which of these five questions helps you most or do you see the most in your life?
It’s so difficult (for me, too) to discern God’s voice; especially since Satan is SO good at disguising his voice. I’ve been enjoying this study and I appreciated those 5 questions that Lysa listed out. It definitely helps discern which direction to go in, even if it’s a direction I might not be comfortable with.
yes! That’s where I get confused. I am sometimes afraid to take the next step b/c what if I’m wrong?
Awesome post today Heather. I was in need of some encouragement and this hit the spot! Thanks
you are welcome!
Thank you so much for sharing! I totally agree–if question 1 is a “no”, there is no point to go through the rest of them. I, too, can be stubborn at times–or over-analyze things. Bless you!
I am the queen of over analyzing things! Oh boy. I think women are SO good at thinking TOO hard haha!
Heather,
First – you are so cute! I am so happy I stumbled across your blog! I am trying to get back into running (what my blog initially started out as before I got sidetracked into women’s ministry and whatever else I post about now).
Number 3 is the question that stands out to me because it is a reminder that if I am seeking to hear from God, I HAVE to be committed to reading his Word and praying on my own time. I wrote about that a bit in my post for last week’s blog hop.
(http://lexiedache.wordpress.com/2013/08/08/saying-yes-to-god-step-one-linking-up-with-p31-obs/)
Thanks for posting and sharing! I’m excited to follow along with you 🙂
– Lexie
Thank you for reading! I started as a running only blog (runningwithsass) and recently changed my name in March as I wanted to include more about my family, travels, and faith. I will check out your blog!
I loved these questions in the book… I find all the time when God is prompting me to something, it seems like that topic is EVERYWHERE… & I love that confirmation from God.. just what I need to get through my thick head!
Yes! I agree! it helps me know for certain I was hearing the right thing!
Interesting! I don’t mean this point to sound at all snarky or dubious, as I do consider myself Christian, but here’s what makes me uncertain about #1. God didn’t write the Bible; people did, based on what they thought they understood about God at the time. As our understanding of God develops and evolves, shouldn’t it stand to reason that scripture shouldn’t be considered automatically accurate? The Bible is a wonderful tool in developing, understanding, and strengthening faith, but I’ve always felt that ultimately, one’s relationship with God is more personal than that.
Again, I don’t mean to cause trouble! I’m genuinely interested in any response anyone might have.
It’s a great question!
Yes people wrote the Bible, but it was inspired by God, and He used them to write down the words. There are ancient manuscripts etc. so we know the words haven’t been changed or mistaken for something else. Also, you can look at tons and tons of prophecies from teh old testament that came true in the new testament. Not to mention, it is historically accurate with other history books as a timeline. There is also nothing in the Bible that contradicts itself. Even though books were written by tons of people, there is nothing that says one thing in one place and something hypocritical in another. I think that is SO cool and goes along with the fact that God himself never changes.
Yes a relationship with God is SO personal, and we have this awesome guidemap (the Bible) to help us get through life and to help answer our tough questions. There are many times I have read a verse and it has meant something to me, but in another situation I got something totally different out of it. That’s the cool thing about it, depending on your situation, growth, and maturity, things will look different, but the word itself remains the same. 🙂 Hope that helps!
That’s a good point – we do filter the words differently depending on our mental state. Thanks for the great reply. 🙂